


The X-Factor

by rayningnight



Series: The Traveller(s) [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Twins, Drabble Format, Gen, Time Travel, WIP, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-02-08 12:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1940877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayningnight/pseuds/rayningnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He isn't his father's pride or his mama's joy. But it's fine. Tsuna doesn't want the attention. He doesn't want to be the heir to an infamous Italian mafia empire. He doesn't want to be the role-model student and a parent's dream child. Those are his siblings' spots — precious family that he's grown to love ever since he's been dumped in this parallel world. </p><p>AU. Time Travel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. as it will be lived

零

Sawada Tsunayoshi wakes, but training forces his eyes to stay shut and his breath to stay even.

Didn’t he just die? Tsuna wonders. He clearly remembers being shot. Maimed. In painful ways that he tries not to think of—

The ceiling is painted like nightfall with glow-in-the-dark plastic stars taped onto it. It's an odd, incongruous sight when he blinks his eyes open for a second. He hasn’t seen such a ceiling since he was into that, “I’m gonna be an astronaut!” phase that quickly left him a few weeks after he turned six. Or was it seven?

Tsuna lays there, mulling over countless possibilities and scenarios. It takes less than a moment, and then he leaps from the warm, blue comforter pulled to his chin and overestimates himself and lands flat on his face.

Quickly getting up with a silent grunt, he realizes that everything in the room seems grander— the bedstead he just left is tall enough to reach his diaphragm— when he takes a step forward, he makes barely half the same space of his normal stride and he almost stumbles over the pandemonium of the room, and that—

Tsuna is stunned when he glances at the full-body mirror to his left.

He is chubby-cheeked, big-eyed and fluffy haired. Tsuna barely resists the urge to screech for Verde who clearly has had a hand in this because Irie’s not brave enough to experiment on him ~~yet~~ , before, again, his recent shooting ~~and maiming~~ excursion dances through his mindscape.

It takes him seconds to realize that this isn't a joke. Twenty seconds to realize he’s actually time travelled—into his former body or some parallel’s body. Seven seconds to accept it in silent thought.

 _It's not a dream. It's not an illusion. Byakuran had random memories of his past, future, and parallel selves. Irie, his resident genius, had sent him forward to save his Famiglia into a time paradox that still doesn't make sense. Universal displacement isn’t all that hard to comprehend._ Tsuna decides.

But he makes a mental note to bite Verde’s head off anyway if it turns out to be his fault.

With a sigh he treads downstairs and stammers a greeting to his mamma (because no matter what universe, Byakuran said he was always a wimp at the start), before Tsuna stills. At the last step on the staircase, he sees two familiar-unfamiliar- _ ~~whoarethey~~ —oh—_ his two siblings— his baby sibling settling the plates and by the counter— his— _his twin_.

Fraternal twin.

They have the same bone structure, face, eyes, hair, _everything_ — except for the colouration. Tsuna is the typical average brunet, but his brother is more like their father: exotic, blond, hazel-eyed with a touch of blue; he could pass himself off as the Vongolo Primo's son at first glance, with that confident air and charismatic smile.

“Hey, you’re actually up for once, Dame-Tsuna!” a voice cuts into his thoughts.

Tsuna's face turns up without conscious control and he sees his twin throwing a teasing, quick grin in his direction. So. He’s moderately close to his brother, Tsuna concludes, once hearing the affectionate tone and not-so-affectionate name call.

“A nightmare woke me up! I face planted to the floor — of course I couldn’t sleep longer after that! _And don’t call me Dame-Tsuna!”_ the last sentence is a tack-on, automatic, because though Tsuna moved his lips, formed and produced the words, _he hadn’t actually thought to say that_.

The blond only grins good-naturedly.

“Well until you can pick up your grades, you’ll never catch up to me!” he laughs a familiar laugh.

But—

_Of course I don’t want to catch up to you. I’ve passed you. But jealousy looks ugly on your face, Hide-nii, and you’re older._

_You should always be better than me._

_You have to be._

The childish voice is a quiet bell in his mind. Tsuna is aware that he’s either slowly killing the previous Sawada Tsunayoshi in this body, or they’re merging.

“Whatever; s’not like I need to get better. I’m passing well enough.”

Probably the latter, if his reflexive response is to go by.

“Sawada Hideyoshi! Be nicer to your brother!” Mamma walks in, smilingly, carrying a tray of sunny-side-up eggs and four buttered croissants.

“Here, okaa-san, I’ll help.”

“Oh, thank you Mitsu-chan!”

Tsuna blinks at the moving mop of dark brown hair walking over to aid their mother, and it’s only the child’s voice in his head that stops him from leaping at the forgotten presence, reminding him that this is his younger sibling, dark haired like their mother, blue-eyed like their many-greats-grandfather, and not some child assassin.

It’ll take a while, Tsuna realizes with dismay, as he snatches his half-moved arm back from trying to take a gun out of a non-existent jacket. But— But he’ll make most of this life, most of _their_ lives a childish voice reciprocates, as it should have been lived.

He narrows his eyes minutely.

As it will be lived.


	2. pissed off

一

Reborn watched the Sawada household from the shadows with a frown.

The Young Lion was right. Sawada “Hide” Hideyoshi would be a magnificent Boss. He had inner strength and …adequate enough skill, kindness to spare for underclassmen and children in general, and a respect to those he deemed respectable. Not a pushover, not a bully, not anything glaringly unfit for an heir. Curiously, Hideyoshi even looked similar to the first generation Vongola Primo, if with darker blond hair and browner eyes, which would endear him to the stodgy members of the family.

Reborn knew that this boy was practically a perfect heir to groom. Above average in his academics. Athletics unparalleled, an ‘all-rounder’ jack-of-all-trades. Popular to a fault (as noticed when his locker was filled to the brim with pink notes and white letters) and a proud,  _normal_ family to boot. Generally these ‘perfect-people' types had abusive homes and a sociopathic streak hidden a mile wide within a kind façade- but it wasn’t so in Sawada Hideyoshi; he genuinely loved his brothers and mother, and always had time for both school life, friendships and family.

But then there was the ‘normal’ family.

Nana wasn’t the problem. She was caring and hardworking, if a bit gullible and oblivious in regards to life in general, but she loved all her children; that much was obvious, though, she tended to be a bit more doting towards the youngest. Not that Reborn blamed her. All parents had a ‘favourite’ child, even if they didn’t say so to anyone; any proper father or mother wouldn’t show off this favouritism, obviously. They would simply, secretly, spend a bit more time with their favourite, talk a more, just those little things that not many noticed.

Reborn was not one of those many.

Sawada “Mitsu” Mitsuhide was gentle, easy-going and peaceful, a calm waterway to Hideyoshi’s flaming youth. Mitsuhide was also ten-times more studious, with a perfect roll-call attendance and straight A’s that never went below a ninety percent. With a tactical mind, Mitsuhide was also a celebrated shogi champion with a fascination in computers. HIs faults lied with physical activity and any athletics, which were always bellow average, but he apparently tried to make up for it through community services and sports management. Though not as popular as his year-elder brother, Mitsuhide gained secret admirers from many, mostly from his delicate features, large eyes superimposed by glasses, and bob-cut brown hair that made him look like an androgynous, mini-me Nana.

From what Reborn could gather, Mitsuhide didn’t swing either way. He never blushed with girls or guys nearby and pretty much had the emotional capacity of a rock.

Of course, that wasn’t _the_ problem Reborn had with the Sawada Household. All in all, he'd gathered much data on these two since he landed in Japan.

It was - it was just _Tsuna_.

Sawada “Tsuna” Tsunayoshi.

The middle child by a few minutes, the often overlooked, who was neither Iemitsu’s pride like Hideyoshi (the Young Lion always had that smug grin on when he spoke of his eldest) or Nana’s joy like Mitsuhide (who always lent a helpful hand for errands or who was always aiding anyone about).

Tsunayoshi was a conundrum. Odd. At school, he was always alone, not a high or medium or at a low-level in the middle school hierarchy. He wasn’t even _on_ the social ladder, it seemed. Average in sports and average in academics and average pretty much everything else. When with peers, popular _or_ unpopular, he easily fit in — adding comments, adding ideas, anything really — but he could also easily be left out, without care or notice. Everyone was just  _indifferent_ with the boy, welcomed when there and forgotten about when not.

It was unsettling.

Tsunayoshi was one of the most popular boys in Namimori’s _twin brother_ and yet, no one cared or remembered that fact. No one questioned him, positively or negatively. And after a day of stalking, even Reborn almost forgot himself, forgot the fact he was _tailing the target,_ when Tsunayoshi so easily blended into the crowds.

After three hours of surveillance, one for each of the siblings, Reborn learned tidbits: like how Hideyoshi had a habit with tapping rhythms when he was bored, couldn’t lie to save his life, (though he could spin an unbelievable story for someone else and _make it_ believable,) took to the boxing club to beat up anyone who belittled his two brothers and _not_ because of Kyoko, his apparent crush, and really, _really_ hated pickled fruit.

He knew Mitsuhide was pretending to be right-handed when he was really ambidextrous, couldn’t express as much emotion in a hour than he could in a minute with Tsunayoshi, had a hidden hobby in hacking and _not_ gaming or NetShogi, and secretly liked ‘Tsuna-nii’ more than ‘Hide-nii’ (probably because the latter was always busy doing something else).

All this and more, and yet, there were only three things he could name off about Sawada Tsunayoshi: he loved his brothers, he was average in _everything,_ and he could disappear within a second of inattention on Reborn’s part.

And that _really_ pissed Reborn off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hide is pronounced, "hee deh" or "hē dā," **not** "hīd" as in the skin of an animal or keeping out of sight.


	3. ciaossu

二

Sawada Mitsuhide waited at the gates, waving at any familiar upperclassmen and lowerclassmen alike, trading smiles and farewells as Namimori Middle streamed out while searching for Tsuna-nii.

Mitsu already knew Hide-nii was at some training session with Sasagawa-senpai and the rest of the boxing club, probably trying to impress Kyoko-senpai, who’d be meeting up later after dance club like every Tuesday — wait… it was Wednesday… so Hide-nii was probably at Kendo practice... — but Tsuna-nii was always free after class. He never took to any extracurricular activities since it wasn’t mandatory at Namimori Middle, unlike most schools, and Mitsu sometimes wondered what Tsuna-nii even did with all that free time.

Mitsu was part of three clubs: treasurer of TechEd, manager of the baseball team, and a player in the shogi club. But, since baseball practice was cancelled today (the school was apparently trimming the field since they messed up the mowing on the weekend), Mitsu decided to wait for Tsuna-nii to walk home together.

Surprisingly, there was sight of dark blond and coffee-brown hair coming out of the school doors _at the same time_ , making Mitsu blink and watch the brothers walk out in perfect paralleling steps, like mirrors.

Even though they looked identical (disregarding the hair and eye colour), the Sawada twins were, figuratively, day and night. On the right, bright-eyed and beaming, Hide-nii was babbling with a horde of his classmates (mostly female, Mitsu noticed) and gesturing flamboyantly to emphasize whatever point he was on about, which made heads turn like plants to the sun. On the left, silent and solitary, Tsuna-nii maneuvered himself around the flocking students with his strange natural grace, without acknowledgement or greetings or apologies from any passersby; he was akin to the shadows: there, overlooked, and forgotten.

Mitsu loved those two. Really. But Mitsu could never tell if Hide-nii was sometimes faking those ever-present grins or if Tsuna-nii’s self-exiling, self-inserting, self-exiling, self-inserting and _repeat_ was really good for his mental health.

Humans needed interaction. Didn’t they learn that back in history class one time, the whole reason civilization existed and stuff? Hide-nii had his close friends with Mochida-senpai (who was a total _jerk_ before all three of them set him straight) and whomever was in the Kendo club and boxing club, while Mitsu had TechEd buddies and Shogi rivals. Mitsu even hung out with some of the baseball players after a game when there was free time from planning their next simulation or game plan, and Mitsu was sure Hide-nii sometimes went on dates with a few of his fangirls to placate the Sawada Offical Fanclub Team (also known as SOFT… after their hair, apparently… and that wasn’t creepy at all, _nooo..._ )—

But Tsuna-nii had no one.

And Mitsu marvelled how Tsuna-nii could keep playing the role as a nobody, a shadow, a faceless ‘one-of-the-crowd’ types when his name was _Sawada_ and there was a freaking _fanclub_ titled after their surname.

…if Tsuna-nii was secretly some sort of undercover superspy, Mitsu wouldn’t be surprised. At all.

“Mitsu-chan,” Tsuna-nii greeted with a smile reserved only for his youngest sibling, appearing at Mitsu's side like he hadn’t just been ten metres away seconds ago. Mitsu fought the urge to reciprocate the grin as they began walking.

“Tsuna-nii,” Mitsu acknowledged, before pausing. “You know I _hate_ that —chan suffix.” Mitsu didn’t sulk. And that wasn’t a whine. Only Tsuna-nii and their mother ever called Mitsu that anymore and so... it was just... irking. Sorta. Maybe.

“Aww, but those don’t suit you, Mitsu-chan,” Tsuna-nii reached out and mussed Mitsu’s perfectly combed hair into a mess not too unlike the elder brothers’ gravity defying hair. Mitsu let out a silent huff and quickly flattened the hair back, luckily patting it to some sense of normalcy before the female members of the photography club crept any closer.

“Hey, Dame-Tsuna! Mitsu-'to, why didn’t you two wait for me?” Hide-nii sprinted from his fan crowd to their side, pouting with his lower lip puckered out.

Tsuna-nii snorted derisively, “And get mowed down by your ever-present fanclub?” he shoved one of his hands into his pocket, while the other slung his schoolbag over his shoulder. “Nah, we’ll just wait ‘til you’re free to hang with us.”

“You hurt me bro, you hurt me,” Hide-nii placed a hand over his heart and wiped a non-existent tear from his face.

Mitsu frowned, “And calling Tsuna-nii _dame_ isn’t hurtful?” It was baffling as to why Hide-nii always did that, even though Tsuna-nii had slowly pulled himself up to at least an average academic level ever since he turned eight.

Hide-nii waved his hand, “Mah, mah, it’s an affectionate nickname, Mitsu. For old times’ sake — right, Dame-Tsuna?”

Tsuna-nii rolled his eyes but remained quiet, a small twitch, barely noticeable, catching his left lip.

Mitsu also never understood that: Tsuna-nii’s seemingly endless patience and tolerance. Nothing ever fazed him, and at times, Mitsu imagined Tsuna-nii as the eldest of them instead of Hide-nii, especially when their blond brother acted so childish, contrasting his brunet brother’s wise aura and calm advice.

Changing the subject, Mitsu inquired detachedly, “Don’t you usually have Kendo practice today, Hide-nii?”

They turned a corner when Hide-nii answered with a grin. “Yep, but Kensuke and I had a… conversation over …girls, during lunch, and, well, he may be kicking me off the Kendo team,” he scratched his jaw sheepishly.

Mitsu noticed Tsuna-nii stiffening before their brother asked quietly, “…was this over Kyoko-chan?”

Hide-nii faltered in his steps, a look of surprise flashing before his ever present smile returned. The blond tilted his head to the side, “How did you know that, Tsuna?”

Tsuna-nii wasn’t paying attention to either of them anymore. Mitsu could tell. Despite Tsuna-nii reasonable answer, face to face, about how the gossip grapevine at school was always in overdrive and how everyone kept to date with _the_ Sawada Hideyoshi, _duh_  ...and etcetera, Mitsu noticed the faraway look in brother’s gaze, saw that flicker of _something_ in those large brown eyes, as if he was seeing past Hide-nii to something else of grave importance.

Tsuna-nii was always a mysterious sort, like an old man in a child's body, always lost in his thoughts.

But Mitsu wouldn’t change it, because this was what made Tsuna, well, Tsuna-nii. The best brother in the whole wide world.

“ _Tadaima_ ,” they all greeted when they reached home, crammed into the foyer to take off their shoes.

Okaa-san popped her head through the first doorframe, the one leading to the living room, smiling warmly at all her children with a soup spoon in her hand waving.

“Welcome home, Hide-kun, Tsuna-kun, Mitsu-chan!”

Mitsu immediately smelled the miso soup aroma wafting through from the kitchen, and knowing their mother, okaa-san would be throwing together Hide-nii’s favourite udon noodles and steamed veggies since it was his selection today. Tomorrow would be Tsuna-nii’s, the next would be Mitsu’s, and the day after would be okaa-san’s choice before rotation began again.

“Here, okaa-san, I’ll help,” Mitsu intoned, dropping the heavy schoolbag on the couch while bypassing Hide-nii’s sprint for the remote and Tsuna-nii’s brisk pace towards the coat hanger.

“Oh, thank you, Mitsu-chan!”

For some reason, there was this strange sense of déjà-vu, making Mitsu still from arguing about the stupid —chan suffix, before Tsuna-nii’s horrible hair-ruffling habit knocked Mitsu out of stupor.

“I’ll help out too, ‘kaa-chan,” Tsuna-nii smiled down, and Mitsu wondered when this stupid body would ever shoot up to the elder Sawada brothers’ height. Maybe when it finally happened, 'kaa-chan and nii-chan would finally start adding the —kun suffix to Mitsu's name. Really, those two were already short for their ages, making Mitsu the weirdest one, the midget of the family _and_ of the classes at school.

When halfway through adding in the tofu blocks and seaweed bits into the hot miso, 'kaa-chan spoke up.

“Oh, my… I just remembered!” she turned to her children, “A home tutor is coming today!”

Mitsu momentarily froze from stirring the pot, noticing Hide-nii whirling around on the couch to face them with a wide-eyed look, but Tsuna-nii continued cutting up the barbecue pork, completely unruffled.

“Home tutor!?” Hide-nii cried as their mother hunted out a white paper sheet from her pink apron.

“There was an interesting flyer in the mailbox,” she said happily, before reading out: “’Will raise your kid to be the new leader of the next generation! Grade and subject doesn’t matter,’ signed, ‘Reborn.’” Okaa-san smiled at them all, waving the leaflet, “Isn’t it great! I’ve never seen a promotion like this before.”

“Obviously it’s a scam, ‘kaa-san!” Hide-nii tried to butt in, but their mother was undeterred.

“It’s probably a tutor from a professional business school for young men! All that’s needed to pay is a place to stay, twenty-four hours, until you’re all properly educated! I’ve always wanted a teacher like this for you—“

“I’m getting perfectly good grades, and so is Mitsu! Maybe Tsuna needs it, but his aren’t _that_ bad either! Average— there’s nothing he’s really  _good_ at anyway—“

“ _Ciaossu_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in a while.


	4. forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's an odd POV change here, so feel free to help me fix/change it up somehow if it sounds as awkward as I think it does...

三

Sawada Hideyoshi blinked several times.

He rubbed them with balled fists, just in case, but nope. It was still there.

 _It_ being an awfully well-dressed, black-eyed, curly-haired, fedora-wearing _toddler._

“Wha— What’s a baby doing in our house!?” he cried, backpedalling like a crab on the couch.

“How did you get in here, little boy?” Hide heard Mitsu ask monotonously, but with a kind edge, after walking over and crouching down to its level.

“Maybe we left the door unlocked,” suggested Tsuna as he stepped forward into the living room, wringing his hands out as if he just washed them. His twin turned to the baby. “Hey, are you lost little boy?”

“I am not a little boy. I’m Reborn, the home tutor.”

“Pfft,” Hide tried to muffle his snort and failed. “The home tutor?! No wonder that flyer sounded so fake — a baby made it!” He rolled over with laughter, before teasing, “Hey, Dame-Tsuna, why don’t you take some lessons from him? Obviously Mitsu and I don’t have anything to learn from it—Oof!”

Despite Kendo and boxing instincts, Hide obviously was _not_ expecting a painful kick to the gut from a kid not even reaching his knees and promptly blacked out.

Reborn sniffed. Hideyoshi was certainly not as strong as he’d originally thought. That would need to be worked on. There were plenty of children in the mafia, some in disguise and some not-so, and if Hide wasn’t _always_ on his guard… It’d be fatal, especially when this small kick knocked him out so easily.

“Where’s his room?” asked Reborn innocently, though he already knew the answer.

But then his eyes sharpened as the youngest Sawada, just a little under five-feet, stood in front of him, arms crossed and glaring suspiciously.

Hmm. So the boy wasn’t as gullible as the mother.

“You just knocked out my _brother_. I don’t think a baby is supposed to be capable of... that.”

The boy was shaking with fear to the trained eye, and Reborn was impressed. So, the blue-eyed midget was just as protective of his siblings as the one passed out on the floor. There was potential there. Maybe it’d be okay to allow Mitsuhide into the Famiglia as …hmm… perhaps CEDEF leader once their father stepped down.

…but then he’d have to leave Tsunayoshi — who, honestly, was still an _unknown_ — in the dark about Vongola since Iemitsu wanted at least one child to stay with Nana.

Reborn mulled it over within a millisecond. Actually, the Young Lion of Vongola didn't  _explicitly_ say that he couldn’t speak of the mafia business to the children. Yes, he said so about his wife, but it’d only been implied about his children.

(Honestly, even if he does or doesn’t tell, the mafia will come upon the Sawada household no matter the circumstances. The Lion isn’t the brightest to think he can hide away his family from his _famiglia_ and enemies alike. One day — on that one off chance day — Nana and whichever child leftover will be killed and it’ll be the husband’s fault that they were never told. Never trained.)

He’ll work around that.

“Help me carry Hideyoshi up to his room and I’ll explain.”

Nana had startled when her eldest fell to the ground, but in the end, had simply taken the whole situation in stride and had quickly stepped back into the kitchen to attend the boiling over noodles and bubbling soup. After Reborn’s comment, however, she went in view and smiled at them over the countertop. Reborn did not miss the mama-bear glint as she voiced, “Second floor, first door to the right. Please be careful.”

_With them._

Reborn didn’t misunderstand that undertone. Even if he looked harmless, Nana had just seen him take down her child, and no matter how gullible, she wasn’t a complete idiot. Reborn wasn’t too worried though. The human mind won't jump to farfetched conclusions, and he’ll let her stir for a while and rally her trust. He quickly made way up the stairs with that in mind, effortlessly carrying Hideyoshi over his shoulder like the numerous experiences with rescues and hostages back in his homeland. Looking down the hallway, he saw, indeed, Hideyoshi’s room to the first door to the right, what with his name plate placed upon it with a large boxing poster posted onto it. Beside that door, a little ways down, was the master bedroom, likely where Nana slept in, and across was Mitsuhide’s door, held slightly ajar and revealing a spick and span room with a laptop on the study beside the windowsill. And beside it—

“You know, it’d probably have been easier if Mitsu-chan and I carried him. That, and my brother wouldn’t be waking up with bruising all over from the stairs.”

Reborn withheld the urge to jump and snap out one of his many hidden guns into view and stiffly, minutely, turned towards Tsunayoshi, who, gallingly, hummed a tune as he picked up his twin and easily coaxed Mitsuhide into their brother’s room, beckoning for Reborn to follow.

Reborn stilled with narrowed eyes, unsure of what he was exactly feeling in this maelstrom of emotion.

Because no matter the excuses, up to and until that point, he had nearly completely forgotten the middle child of the Sawada Household.


	5. for anyone else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... don't kill me? Haha.. *cries*

四

Nana hummed a gentle tune beneath her breath as she added some chopped green onions to the pot.

It wasn’t the first time she’d ignored everything around her, and it certainly won’t be the last: going with the flow with everything, wanting everyone to get along and simply enjoying how great it was to be alive. She’d raised her children in that way, too, but it seemed all three of them were their father’s children too, no matter what they all thought — or wanted to think.

Nana looked out the window and smiled just a bit brighter as she caught the evening sun still high in the sky.

The little home-tutor, Reborn, would help shape them to who they were always meant to be; she knew it. She could feel it. Nana had nurtured them all in their own way, with her youngest still with a guiding hand, her eldest with small words and quick encouragement, and allowed her middle child the independence he’d craved since young. Having learnt from her own childhood… she knew that her child-rearing skills weren’t the greatest, but she liked to think she wasn’t the absolute worst either. Though a bit slow at times, Hide was rambunctious, enthusiastic and kind. Perhaps Tsuna was lazier than should be allowed, but he was mature and independent enough to handle himself. And dear Mitsu was always intelligent and eager to please, even if a bit …closed off… to those who weren’t family.

Nana knew what it looked like to outsiders, this single mother of three so very different children, but she never said she was perfect, even if Iemitsu kept proclaiming it to all who’d listen.

“Nadeshiko Yamato,” as she’d heard his colleagues say, and she always choked and left the room with an excuse to get more refreshments.

She wondered sometimes if they even notice.

Nana sighed, losing a bit of her smile. She loved Iemitsu; since the time he wrangled a date from her while she’d been working at the restaurant, capturing her heart at her lowest point and washing away all her troubles, she knew it.

Not many others know, but she’d been the one to ask for that one step further — to present a ring and make those phone calls. He was truly perfect, in all the ways that mattered, and she knew she had to keep him. His love was passionate and sincere, like the bright daylight and night blossoms and fireworks — in and out, beautiful and gone before coming back once more. Lovers and partners from before never gave that perfect amount — too little attention and she knew their feelings were false, but too much attention and she felt their feelings too clingy.

But Iemitsu… although to others, what he gave seemed too little, she was perfectly fine with what he did bring into her life: friendship, love, attention, acknowledgement, comic relief and their children. Children. Beautiful and wonderful children that shined a light onto her life, filled with starry laughter and a blanket of peace.

She loved him with all that she could, and she knew he reciprocated those feelings, despite work and other priorities.

But sometimes… he could be so … _blind_.

Oblivious, really.

Their children were no longer the “innocent, fluffy little cutie-patooties” that he always asked for. Their children were never normal and now… well, she never used the terms “hellokitty, tunafishie and minimuffin.” To their faces, at least. Most of the time. Life had thrown them into the deep end when they were born, and Nana would not have them unprepared, especially since — since Tsuna had —

There was a crash from upstairs and Nana shook out of her thoughts. No use going down that road.

It wasn't like her whole world had changed or anything like that.

She fixed some plates that had fallen over from the drying rack, and turned a look over at the staircase. Nana could go up. She could step up. She could open the door. She could see what exactly was going on.

But there was a great difference between could and would — and should.

Closing her eyes, she felt her drumming heart calm, breathed in, breathed out, and continued on her merry way. She took to the chopping board, grabbed the large knife for the barbecue pork cuts, and glanced at the reflection on the sharp blade with a small smile. She would always treat life with a smile, living in the present with none of those terrible thoughts of the past or future to come.

Upstairs had quieted down and she heard no shouts or shrieks, so she ticked that off as good enough. So focussed on making dinner, she almost hadn't heard the light footsteps down the stairs that were more quiet than a mouse.

Nana looked down after scooping some bowls of rice noodles as she felt a tug on her trousers. She startled a bit, as was appropriate, and smiled at the toddler with too great reflexes and too dark eyes.

“Hello, Reborn-kun,” she cooed, crouching down with a beatific smile. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“The contract states that I will live here until Hideyoshi’s grades are at least in the 86th percentile and his grades have increased to a straight A average.”

“Well, yes,” Nana tilted her head, not the least bit perturbed by the words spoken with such a childlike voice, “but I don’t mind cooking dinner for you, Reborn-kun. It must be hard in such a new country to buy food at your age, especially not in your native language!”

Black, beetle-like eyes stared at her with an intensity unseen of before, and Nana blinked, and Reborn was smiling such a shy, coy smile that Nana must have just imagined the previous look.

She went to set up a nice high chair for the boy to sit in and hunted for a small bowl to serve some udon noodles for him. She settled the steamed bok-choy, broccoli and bean sprouts in larger trays along the table already, along with the meats and tofu squares, so it was just the noodles and broth now.

“Reborn-kun, would you like some mushrooms or diced carrots?”

“Yes, please, to both, Nana-san.”

“Oh, don’t be so formal, Reborn-kun!” Nana gushed, adding some of the extras as he’d asked and reaching over to pinch his cheek with her other hand, and of course not noticing him flinch at the act as she placed the bowl down. “Just call me, ‘kaa-san or —chan or whatever it is in Italian, alright?”

Reborn nodded after a pause, and took a pair of chopsticks from the table and quickly began eating his meal, praising her dishes and making small talk. Nana hummed and smiled and laughed, and when her children finally came downstairs, each with varying expressions and giving various comments or exclamations about Reborn staying over, she still hummed and smiled and laughed.

It was great to be alive, Nana thought, and she would live her life the way she wanted to.

Not for anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block killed me and then hit me like a train this month, so I have like ten other stories I started writing even though I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR IT. I'm focussing on this story though, so don't worry! (Yes, all the waiting for this tiny chapter, and I FEEL SO BAD ALREADY please don't rub salt in the open wound.)
> 
> If you see typos/grammatical errors, please point them out! This was finished literally minutes ago...


	6. did you forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again. I've got two midterms, an essay and an article to write, and after a year-ish of not updating, it's _now_ my mind decides it's a great time update? Why does inspiration have to hit me now? Why? ಠ_ಠ
> 
> Hope you all are happy with this stuff written when I should be studying, LOLZ. (;¬_¬)
> 
> Though, I'm honestly flabbergasted why so many of you like this story. I haven't even written much. What's so great about ~5,000 words of introduction stuff??? I don't understand??? (O.o) You all are so weird.

五

It had only been a matter of days, and yet, Hide’s life had been completely and utterly uprooted.

He had no time to spend anymore, no time to read a bit of manga in that hour after a stressful practice or club meeting (he'd finally quit the Kendo Club, good riddance) because stupid Reborn was always there. Always. _All the time_. With that horrible gleam in his eye and the freaky chameleon gun he totted around to fire at Hide’s head whenever he got the chance to _prove his Dying Will_.

Why did he have to target him, of all people?! 

(Well, Tsuna was always disappearing off to who-knows-where and he wouldn’t — couldn’t — subject little _Mitsu_ to Reborn’s spartan ways!)

Hide fell into bed, tired, exhausted and just done with life.

…he still had algebra to do, didn’t he?

With a sigh, he buried his face in a pillow and screamed so that no one would hear — he ignored the lecturing-Tsuna-tone in his mind that told him Reborn would _always_ hear — and got back up to figure out what x or y or z equaled to for today's worksheet. As he finished up, Hide glanced up and found that the time was five before nine, five minutes before his designated hour of homework was over and he tapped his fingers in a four-beat-meter absentmindedly.

Hide was tired of this.

Tired of everything. Done with it all.

But mostly, he was just done with getting shot in the head. Not just once ( _oooh_ no, of course not just _once_ , when he apparently could defy death — it was in his blood to just pick himself up and dust himself off from being _shot—_  what the fuck is his _life—_ ) but _multiple times_.

(And that was excruciatingly painful, no matter the reason and results.)

For another, he'd beaten up his so-called-once- _never-again_ -… best friend Ke- _Mochida_ and, presently, they weren't even on _breathing-in-the-same-room_ terms, let alone speaking terms (it was only luck they weren't in the same homeroom). Hide couldn't tell whether the silent treatment had been what lead to him quitting or if quitting had led to the silent treatment. Mochida was captain of the kendo team, he knew how beneficial it was to have Hide on the team to bolster the more experienced team to the championships this year, but honestly, he couldn't stand being in Mochida's presence anymore. And slowly, they stopped talking altogether in practice and — well, today had been the last straw, because some of his so-called friends on the team began to just — not talk to him. Like Mochida. Following  _Mochida's_ example.

But what made his life utterly miserable, what made him want to crawl into a hole and live there like a hermit for the next year or two, was the fact that _everyone else_ wouldn’t _damn well leave him alone_.

Sure, it’d been pretty cool at first, this suddenly increase of popularity over Yamamoto-san and the Student Council President and all the rest, but he’d expected the “five minutes of fame” phenomenon to happen and then everything would revert back to his normal life. But nope. Five minutes ended up being _five days_ so far of people randomly staring at him and of guys he hadn’t even known before greeting him in the mornings and it was all so _bizarre_.

(He didn't want or care for the public's opinion of him, he wanted his  _friends_ back. He wanted to help Osamu's basic stance and high-five Iida after a match and spar with Ken _—_ )

Just because he beat the kendo captain at his own game, people left and right were asking him for favours and help even though he clearly stated for the _thousandth time **no!**_

Hide almost cried with happiness when he saw a number of girls who typically raided his locker [that he never used anymore, because everyone was apparently using it as a love-note mailbox or something], wearing odd "SOFT" badges — English for “soft”? What was that supposed to mean? — making barricades for him sometimes and pulling away people who were trying to garner some sort of favour from him.

But alas, more than a few got through the cracks.

The volleyball team wanted him to help them out at some tournament, since they were short a regular and none of their second-stringers could make it. The student council wanted him to post their flyers and posters for the upcoming Sports Festival in and around the public because they forgot the annual event happened at the end of the month (which was one day away). The art club wanted him to bring their sculpting structures from the West Wing to the East Wing because each one weighed ninety pounds and they didn’t have enough money to hire some grunts.

Hell no, he wasn’t doing any of that.

Because if he can’t do it with his own power, _what was the point?_

He hated the Dying Will Bullet. Though it got the job done, it didn’t even feel like it was him doing it. When hit, it may as well have been some alien who entered his body and took on his last thoughts as his final wish and commandment. It made Hide feel so inadequate compared to _himself_. Which… taken out of context, didn’t speak so well of his own sanity.

Yes, he really did not like his life right about now. He didn’t even know what to make of it, anymore.

Hide wasn’t sure what to make of that stupid home-tutor baby hitman, named _Reborn_ of all things, either.

“Dame-Hide, get me some food.”

 _Dame?_ Did he just— Hide  _wasn't_ —

“Hiieee!" Hide scrambled up as he saw the devil baby knock back — was that a bazooka?! "Yes, okay, got it, I got it, don’t shoot me— _gah_.” He quickly dodged the typical (when had being shot become a daily occurrence? _When?_ ) five bullets from, thankfully, not the giant-ass-bazooka but the smaller handgun Reborn drew out of nowhere.

Hide pursed his lips as he heated up some leftovers.

Reborn had brought utter chaos in his life, and Hide was still on the fence about the gun-toting-mafia-toddler. Reborn wasn't nice. He was the complete opposite of  _nice._ Electrocuting him in the morning to wake him up, falling asleep during their semi-important conversations, stalking him in weird and outrageous outfits, making him "train" in the morning and night and all around when he really needed sleep, dammit. Reborn always manipulated situations into his favour, making Hide watch him charm even  _Kyoko_ just the other day, and then made Hide go up and confess after shooting him dead and—

Hide quickly started the coffee machine at the sight of _the hat_ peeking just where the stairs met the second-level of the house, before he heard Reborn let out a satisfied grunt and tiny footsteps walking back to his room.

He hated the hat, too, actually. Number three or four in his list of Most Hated Things, because it represented _Reborn_ and utter chaos. It was bright and hideous and who the hell ties a ribbon around a black fedora? And don't him even started on the strange physics of that thing. It didn’t even look like it should fit the Reborn’s head! Somehow it was magically staying above eye-level, even though it was probably bigger than the diameter of the little guy's face.

And yet it somehow fit the devilish tutor, like some weird signature.

"Hey, Hide," a voice interrupted his thoughts.

He startled and turned to see Tsuna slouching on a barstool in the kitchen, nursing a mug of hot chocolate half-empty and steaming slightly.

"When did you get here!?"

"...I've been here the whole time?"

"B-But," Hide looked at the mug again, then looked at his brother, then back to the drink, and then met his brother's amused eyes and stupid smile with a glare. "Why the fuck didn't you say anything, dammit!"

"Don't swear," Tsuna rebuked, sipping from his mug. "Gokudera-san has been a terrible influence on you."

"He knows how to express himself in the best way possible," Hide mutters, "even if it's weird. One minute he's talking shit about the teacher who can't fucking teach and the next he's bowing—hey owowowow stahp i', le' goh!"

"I just told you to stop swearing," Tsuna chided while his fingers were firmly pinching Hide's nose and pulling his face into closer proximity.

"Le' me goh!" Hide cried out, his voice vibrating like a filter.

"No."

"Dame-Tsuna!"

Tsuna smiled sweetly with his eyes closed. "No."

" _Tsuuuuna_ ," Hide whined. Tsuna waited expectantly. With pursed lips, Hide conceded.

"Fine. I won' fugkin- ow, ogkay, ogkay, gaw' i' bro, I won' freagking swear!"

"That's better." Tsuna finally let go after one last yank, smile ever so beatific. "It's really too bad, with all this pinching, you'll lose your cute little button nose."

 _"Tsuna!"_ Hide cried out. What the ever loving fu—

There was a gleam in Tsuna's eye, and Hide's thought process screeched to a halt as he wondered if Reborn had taught his brother to mind-read or something and if he did—!

Hide buried his face in his hands. "Why is this my life?!"

"There, there," Tsuna reached over to pat him on the head like some pet dog. "Think of life being an ocean. We get dropped in it and we either sink or swim. So really, we're all drowning and life only goes downhill so we have to learn to just go with the flow."

"Go with the flow?" Hide sighed. "You're talking like kaa-chan."

"And mom has a point." Tsuna sipped his drink once more.

"Yeah, no," Hide rolled his eyes. Mom was an airhead who didn't like plans or arranged meetings or anything like that. If Hide didn't keep to a tight schedule, he'd never get anything done. He wasn't like his siblings who didn't know exactly when and what they were able to get done for the day — though not as extreme as their mother. Mitsu would plan to do maybe one or two things but ended up doing all the homework assigned and paperwork for club stuff. Tsuna was the opposite, saying he'd do this or that assignment and procrastinating until the night before, the lazy bastard.

Honestly, Hide wondered if he was adopted or something... but looking at his fraternal twin already proved otherwise. Still, he didn't _completely_ factor it out. Everyone had brown hair in the family, except for him and tou-san. He pulled down the front of his bangs, glaring at the offending hair. How did he even get this ridiculously bright colour? Didn't that just defy genetics or something?

"Mom's not fully Japanese." Tsuna interrupted his thoughts with his freaky Reborn-esque mind-reading voodoo. "Really, Hide. Why do you think we look kinda like foreigners? Both of our parents are hapas, just... weirdly getting more Asian features than the typically white-dominant stuff."

"Oh yeah," which, now that he thought about it, probably also explained the weird bluish-brown stupid girly eyes he has. ...And the blue eyes Mitsu has.

...Dammit. He was being really slow today. Tonight. Gah.

"Oh yeah," echoed Tsuna mockingly. He downed the rest of his drink, before getting out from his seat. "Anyway, I'm off to bed. Make sure to reheat what's in the microwave, it must've gotten cold by now." With a toothy grin and jaunty wave, Tsuna took his mug to the sink and then disappeared upstairs.

"Microwave...? Oh sh—"

"Dame-Hide, did you forget about me?"


End file.
